The exact origin of the name Ljubljana is unclear. In medieval times, both the river and the town were also called Laibach (German:[ˈlaɪ̯bax]ⓘ) in German. This name was used within the region until 1918 and continues to be used in German. In Italian, the city is referred to as Lubiana, and in Latin, it is known as Labacum.[21]
The German name was first documented in 1144, and the Slovenian form appeared in records as early as 1146. The 10th-century work "Life of Gregentios" provides the Greek variant Λυπλιανές (Lyplianes) and situates it among the Avars in the 6th century. This account is influenced by an earlier northern Italian source written shortly after the conquest of 774.[22]
The connection between the Slovene and German names has posed a puzzle for scholars. In 2007, linguist
University of Leiden, provided strong support for the theory that the Slavic ljub- 'to love, like' was the most likely origin. He argued that the river's name likely stemmed from the settlement's name.[23][24] Silvo Torkar, a linguist with expertise in Slovene names, put forth the idea that Ljubljana's name has its roots in Ljubija, the original name of the Ljubljanica River. This can be traced back to the Old Slavic male name Ljubovid, which translates to 'the one with a lovely appearance'. Torkar also asserted that the name Laibach is a combination of German and Slovene, sharing its origins with the same personal name.[25][26]
Dragon symbol
The city's symbol is the
Ljubljana Dragon. It is depicted on the top of the tower of Ljubljana Castle in the Ljubljana coat of arms and on the Ljubljanica-crossing Dragon Bridge (Zmajski most).[27]
It represents power, courage, and greatness.
Several explanations describe the origin of the Ljubljana Dragon. According to a
Slavic myth, the slaying of a dragon releases the waters and ensures the fertility of the earth, and it is thought that the myth is tied to the Ljubljana Marsh, the expansive marshy area that periodically threatens Ljubljana with flooding.[28] According to Greek legend, the Argonauts on their return home after having taken the Golden Fleece found a large lake surrounded by a marsh between the present-day towns of Vrhnika and Ljubljana. There Jason struck down a monster. This monster evolved into the dragon that today is present in the city coat of arms and flag.[29]
It is historically more believable that the dragon was adopted from Saint George, the patron of the Ljubljana Castle chapel built in the 15th century. In the legend of Saint George, the dragon represents the old ancestral paganism overcome by Christianity. According to another explanation, related to the second, the dragon was at first only a decoration above the city coat of arms. In the Baroque, it became part of the coat of arms and, in the 19th and especially the 20th century, it outstripped the tower and other elements in importance.
Later, the area remained a transit point, for groups including the Illyrians, followed by a mixed nation of the Celts and the Illyrians called the Iapodes, and then in the 3rd century BC a Celtic tribe, the Taurisci.[33]
Attila's orders,[35] and later by the Ostrogoths and the Lombards.[39] Emona housed 5,000 to 6,000 inhabitants and played an important role during battles. Its plastered brick houses, painted in different colours, were connected to a drainage system.[35]
In the 6th century, the ancestors of the
Magyar raids.[40] Not much is known about the area during the settlement of Slavs
in the period between the downfall of Emona and the Early Middle Ages.
Middle Ages
The parchment sheet Nomina defunctorum ("Names of the Dead"), most probably written in the second half of 1161, mentions the nobleman Rudolf of Tarcento, a lawyer of the
Patriarchate of Aquileia, who had bestowed a canon with 20 farmsteads beside the castle of Ljubljana (castrum Leibach) to the Patriarchate. According to the historian Peter Štih's deduction, this happened between 1112 and 1125, the earliest mention of Ljubljana.[41]
The property changed hands repeatedly until the first half of the 12th century. The territory south of the
Conventual Franciscans, and the Franciscans settled there.[46] In 1256, when the Carinthian duke Ulrich III of Spanheim became lord of Carniola, the provincial capital was moved from Kamnik
to Ljubljana.
In the late 1270s, Ljubljana was conquered by King
In the 16th century, the population of Ljubljana numbered 5,000, 70% of whom spoke
secondary school, public library and printing house opened in Ljubljana. Ljubljana became an important educational centre.[57]
From 1529, Ljubljana had an active
Slovene Protestant community. They were expelled in 1598, marking the beginning of the Counter-Reformation. Catholic Bishop Thomas Chrön ordered the public burning of eight cartloads of Protestant books.[58][59]
In 1597, the
St. Christopher's Cemetery replaced the cemetery at St. Peter's Church as Ljubljana's main cemetery.[62]
Late modern
From 1809 to 1813, during the "
Kingdom of Illyria in the Austrian Empire.[66] In 1821, it hosted the Congress of Laibach, which fixed European political borders for that period.[67][68] The first train arrived in 1849 from Vienna and in 1857 the line extended to Trieste.[65]
In 1895, Ljubljana, then a city of 31,000, suffered a severe earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.1 and a maximum EMS intensity of VIII–IX ("heavily damaging – destructive").[69] 21 people died due to the earthquake and some 10% of the city's 1,400 buildings were destroyed.[70][71] During the subsequent reconstruction, some districts were rebuilt in the Vienna Secession style.[65] Public electric lighting arrived in 1898. The rebuilding period between 1896 and 1910 is referred to as the "revival of Ljubljana" because of architectural changes that defined the city and for reform of urban administration, health, education and tourism. The rebuilding and quick modernisation of the city were led by the mayor Ivan Hribar.[65]
Zürich, 250 km (160 mi) east of Venice, 350 km (220 mi) southwest of Vienna, 124 km (77 mi) west of Zagreb and 400 km (250 mi) southwest of Budapest.[83] Ljubljana has grown considerably since the 1970s, mainly by merging with nearby settlements.[84]
Geology
The city stretches out on an alluvial plain dating to the Quaternaryera. The mountainous regions nearby are older, dating from the Mesozoic (Triassic) or Paleozoic.[85] Earthquakes have repeatedly devastated Ljubljana, notably in 1511 and 1895.[86]
Topography
Ljubljana has an elevation of 295 m (968 ft).
Grmada, reaches 676 m (2,218 ft), 3 m (9.8 ft) more than the nearby Mount Saint Mary (Šmarna gora) peak, a popular hiking destination.[89][90] These are located in the northern part of the city.[89]
View to the south from Ljubljana Castle with the Ljubljana Marsh in the back. The building density there is substantially lower due to unsuitable ground for construction.
The main watercourses in Ljubljana are the Ljubljanica, the Sava, the Gradaščica, the Mali Graben, the Iška and the Iščica rivers. From the Trnovo District to the Moste District, around Castle Hill, the Ljubljanica partly flows through the Gruber Canal, built according to plans by Gabriel Gruber from 1772 until 1780. Next to the eastern border, the rivers Ljubljanica, Sava, and Kamnik Bistrica flow together.[91][92] The confluence is the lowest point of Ljubljana, with an elevation of 261 m (856 ft).[88]
Through its history, Ljubljana has been struck by floods. The latest was in August 2023, when the Sava and Gradaščica rivers flooded in their upper reaches.[93] Southern and western parts of the city are more flood-endangered than northern parts.[94] The Gruber Canal has partly diminished the danger of floods in the Ljubljana Marsh, the largest marsh in Slovenia, south of the city.
The two major ponds in Ljubljana are Koseze Pond in the Šiška District and Tivoli Pond in the southern part of Tivoli City Park.[95] Koseze Pond has rare plant and animal species and is a place of meeting and recreation.[96] Tivoli Pond is a shallow pond with a small volume that was originally used for boating and ice skating, but is now used for fishing.[97]
Climate
Ljubljana's climate is oceanic (Köppen climate classification: Cfb), bordering on a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa), with continental characteristics such as warm summers and moderately cold winters.[98][99] July and August are the warmest months with daily high temperatures generally between 25 and 30 °C (77 and 86 °F), and January is the coldest month with temperatures mostly around 0 °C (32 °F). The city experiences up to 90 days of frost per year, and 11 days with temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F) (often even more). Precipitation is relatively evenly distributed throughout the seasons, although winter and spring tend to be somewhat drier than summer and autumn. Yearly precipitation is about 1,400 mm (55 in), making Ljubljana one of the wettest European capitals. Thunderstorms are common from May to September and can occasionally be heavy. Snow is common from December to February; on average, snow cover is recorded for 48 days a year. The city is known for its fog, appearing on average on 64 days per year, mostly in autumn and winter, and can be particularly persistent in conditions of temperature inversion.[100]
Climate data for Ljubljana (Bežigrad District) 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1948–present
1511 earthquake, it was rebuilt in the Baroque style
following Italian, particularly Venetian, models.
After the earthquake in 1895, it was again rebuilt, this time in the Vienna Secession style, which is juxtaposed against the earlier Baroque style buildings that remain. Large sectors built in the inter-war period often include a personal touch by the architects Jože Plečnik[110] and Ivan Vurnik.[111] In the second half of the 20th century, parts of Ljubljana were redesigned by Edvard Ravnikar.[112]
Ljubljana Castle (Ljubljanski grad) is a medieval castle with Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance architectural elements, located on the summit of Castle Hill, which dominates the city centre.[113] The area surrounding the castle has been continuously inhabited since 1200 BC.[114] The castle was built in the 12th century and was a residence of the Margraves, later the Dukes of Carniola.[115] Its Viewing Tower dates to 1848; it was manned by a guard whose duty it was to fire cannons announcing fire or important visitors or events, a function the castle still holds.[114] Cultural events and weddings also take place there.[116] In 2006, a funicular linked the city centre to the castle.[117]
city government. The original, Gothic building was completed in 1484.[118] Between 1717 and 1719,[110] the building underwent a Baroque renovation with a Venetian inspiration by architect Gregor Maček Sr.[119] Near Town Hall, at Town Square, stands a replica of the Baroque Robba Fountain. The original was moved into the National Gallery in 2006. The fountain is decorated with an obelisk; at the foot are three figures in white marble symbolising the three chief rivers of Carniola. It is work of Francesco Robba, who designed other Baroque statues there.[120]
Saints Cyril and Methodius).[121] The Diocese was set up in 1461.[121] Between 1701 and 1706, Jesuit architect Andrea Pozzo designed the Baroque church with two side chapels shaped in the form of a Latin cross.[121] The dome was built in the centre in 1841.[121] The interior is decorated with Baroque frescos painted by Giulio Quaglio between 1703–1706 and 1721–1723.[121]
Art-Deco architecture. Predominantly a place of business, Nebotičnik is home to shops on the ground floor and first story, and offices are located on floors two to five. The sixth to ninth floors are private residences. The top three floors host a café, bar and observation deck.[122] It was designed by Slovenian architect Vladimir Šubic. The building opened on 21 February 1933.[123] It was once the tallest residential building in Europe.[123]
Franc Hladnik in 1810. Of over 4,500 plant species and subspecies, roughly a third is endemic to Slovenia, whereas the rest originate from other European places and other continents. The institution is a member of the international network Botanic Gardens Conservation International and cooperates with more than 270 botanical gardens all across the world.[127]
Ljubljana's best-known bridges, listed from northern to southern ones, include the
Ljubljanica River
.
The Dragon Bridge
The 1901 Dragon Bridge, decorated with dragon statues[129] on pedestals at four corners of the bridge[130][131] has become a symbol of the city[132] and is regarded as one of the most beautiful examples of a bridge made in Vienna Secession style.[27][133][132][134] It has a span of 33.34 m (109 ft 5 in)[27] and its arch was at the time the third largest in Europe.[130] It is protected as a technical monument.[135]
The Butchers' Bridge
Decorated with mythological bronze sculptures, created by
The Fish Footbridge offers a view of the neighbouring Triple Bridge to the north and the Cobbler's Bridge to the South. It is a transparent glass-made bridge, illuminated at night by in-built LEDs.[138] From 1991 to 2014 the bridge was a wooden one and decorated with flowers, while since its reconstruction in 2014, it is made of glass. It was planned already in 1895 by Max Fabiani to build a bridge on the location, in 1913 Alfred Keller planned a staircase, later Jože Plečnik incorporated both into his own plans which, however, were not realised.[139]
The Cobbler's Bridge
The 1930 'Cobblers' Bridge' (Šuštarski, from German Schuster – Shoemaker) is another
Corinthian pillars which delineate the shape of the bridge itself and the Ionic pillars as lamp-bearers.[140]
The Trnovo Bridge
The Trnovo Bridge is the most prominent object of Plečnik's renovation of the banks of the Gradaščica. It is located in the front of the
Art-Deco male sculptures. There is also a statue of Saint John the Baptist on the bridge, the patron of the Trnovo Church. It was designed by Nikolaj Pirnat
Having already existed in the 18th century, Ljubljana's central square,
muse stands in the middle of the square. The Prešeren Monument was created by Ivan Zajec in 1905, whereas the pedestal was designed by Max Fabiani. The square and surroundings have been closed to traffic since 1 September 2007.[151] Only a tourist train leaves Prešeren Square every day, transporting tourists to Ljubljana Castle.[151]
Cankar Hall, the largest Slovenian cultural and congress centre, at the southern side.[152] At its eastern side stands the two-storey building of Maximarket, also the work of Ravnikar. It houses one of the oldest department stores in Ljubljana and a cafe, which is a popular meeting place and a place for political talks and negotiations.[153]
Philharmonic Hall, Ursuline Church of the Holy Trinity, and the Slovene Society Building. Star Park (Park Zvezda) is located in the centre of the square. In 2010 and 2011, the square was renovated and is now mostly closed to road traffic on ground area, however, there are five floors for commercial purposes and a parking lot located underground.[154]
The central position of Ljubljana and its dialect had crucial impact
Slovene lands, but also because it always had an essentially Slovene character. Most of its inhabitants spoke Slovene as their mother tongue, unlike other cites in today's Slovenia. It is estimated that in Trubar's time around 70% of Ljubljana's 4000 inhabitants attended mass in Slovene.[155] Trubar considered Ljubljana's speech most suitable, since it sounded much more noble, than his own simple dialect of his hometown Rašica.[159]
Trubar's choice was later adopted also by other Protestant writers in the 16th century, and ultimately led to a formation of a more standard language.
In literary fiction
Ljubljana appears in the 2005
Elisabeth Kostova, and is called by its Roman name (Emona).[160]
is a contemporary art gallery that opened in 1978.
Entertainment and performing arts
Cankar Hall
is the largest Slovenian cultural and congress center with multiple halls and a large foyer in which art film festivals, artistic performances, book fairs, and other cultural events are held.
Cinema
The cinema in Ljubljana appeared for the first time at the turn of the 20th century, and quickly gained popularity among the residents. After World War II, the
LGBT-themed films. Founded in 1984, it is the oldest film festival of its sort in Europe (with oldest ex SFRY LGBT+ march in Ljubljana Pride).[165]
Classical music, opera and ballet
The
Slovene National Opera and Ballet Theatre also resides in Ljubljana, presenting a wide variety of domestic and foreign, modern and classic, opera, ballet and concert works. It serves as the national opera and ballet house. Music festivals are held in Ljubljana, chiefly in European classical music and jazz, for instance the Ljubljana Summer Festival (Ljubljanski poletni festival), and Trnfest
. Theatre has a rich tradition in Ljubljana, starting with the 1867 first ever Slovene-language drama performance.
Modern dance
The modern dance was presented in Ljubljana for the first time at the end of the 19th century and developed rapidly since the end of the 1920s. Since the 1930s when in Ljubljana was founded a Mary Wigman dance school, the first one for modern dance in Slovenia, the field has been intimately linked to the development in Europe and the United States. Ljubljana Dance Theatre is today the only venue in Ljubljana dedicated to contemporary dance. Despite this, there's a vivid happening in the field.
Folk dance
Several folk dance groups are active in Ljubljana.
Jazz
In July 2015, the 56th Ljubljana Jazz Festival was held. A participant event in the European Jazz Network, the festival took place over four days and included 19 concerts with artists from 19 countries, including a celebration of the 75th birthday of
In the 1980s with the emergence of subcultures in Ljubljana, an alternative culture began to develop in Ljubljana organised around two student organisations.[167] This caused an influx of young people to the city centre, caused political and social changes, and led to the establishment of alternative art centres.[168]
Metelkova and Rog
A Ljubljana equivalent of Copenhagen's Freetown Christiania, a self-proclaimed autonomous Metelkova neighbourhood, was set up in a former Austro-Hungarian barracks that was built in 1882.[169][170]
In 1993, the seven buildings and 12,500 square metres (135,000 sq ft) of space were turned into art galleries, artist studios, and seven nightclubs, including two LGBTQ+ venues, playing host to music from hardcore to jazz to dub to techno. Celica Hostel is adjacent to Metelkova[171] with rooms artistically decorated by Metelkova artists. A new part of the Museum of Modern Art is the nearby Museum of Contemporary Art.[172] Another alternative culture centre is located in the former Rog factory. Both Metelkova and the Rog factory complex are near the city centre.
In 2023, the Rog factory underwent a complete renovation and rebranding, and it is now known as Center Rog. Center Rog has nineteen project studios and five residential apartments in addition to a new branch of the Ljubljana City Library (Rog Library), a large exhibition and event hall, a café, bistro, and restaurant, and several shops with local products.[173]
Šiška Cultural Quarter
Šiška Cultural Quarter hosts art groups and cultural organisations dedicated to contemporary and avant-garde arts. Kino Šiška Centre for Urban Culture is there, a venue offering concerts of indie, punk, and rock bands as well as exhibitions take place. The Museum of Transitory Art (MoTA) is a museum without a permanent collection or a fixed space. Its programs are realised in temporary physical and virtual spaces dedicated to advancing the research, production and presentation of transitory, experimental, and live art forms. Yearly MoTA organises the Sonica Festival. Ljudmila (since 1994), which strives to connect research practices, technologies, science, and art.
Sports
Clubs
Tension between German and Slovene residents dominated the development of sport in Ljubljana in the 19th century. The first sports club in Ljubljana was the
Croatian Sokol club in Zagreb. Members were also active in culture and politics, striving for greater integration of the Slovenes from different Crown lands of Austria-Hungary
and for their cultural, political, and economic independence.
In 1885, German residents established the first sports club in the territory of nowadays Slovenia,
Ilirija, started operating in the city. Winter sports already started to develop in the area of the nowadays Ljubljana before World War II.[174] In 1929, the first ice hockey club in Slovenia (then Yugoslavia), SK Ilirija
Each year since 1957, on 8–10 May, the recreational Walk Along the Wire has taken place to mark the liberation of Ljubljana on 9 May 1945.[177] At the same occasion, a triples competition is run on the trail, and a few days later, a student-run from Prešeren Square to Ljubljana Castle is held. The last Sunday in October, the Ljubljana Marathon and a few minor competition runs take place on the city streets. The event attracts several thousand runners each year.[178]
Sport venues
The
NK Olimpija Ljubljana, dissolved in 2004. Joc Pečečnik, a Slovenian multimillionaire, plans to renovate it.[179]
athletics. Another sports park in Spodnja Šiška is Ilirija Sports Park, known primarily for its stadium with a speedway track. At the northern end of Tivoli Park stands the Ilirija Swimming Pool Complex
, which was built as part of a swimming and athletics venue following plans by Bloudek in the 1930s and has been nearly abandoned since then, but there are plans to renovate it.
A number of sport venues are located in Tivoli Park. An outdoor swimming pool in Tivoli, constructed by Bloudek in 1929, was the first Olympic-size swimming pool in Yugoslavia. The Tivoli Recreational Centre in Tivoli is Ljubljana's largest recreational centre and has three swimming pools, saunas, a Boules court, a health club, and other facilities.[180] There are two skating rinks, a basketball court, a winter ice rink, and ten tennis courts in its outdoor area.[181] The Tivoli Hall consists of two halls. The smaller one accepts 4,050 spectators and is used for basketball matches. The larger one can accommodate 6,000 spectators and is primarily used for hockey, but also for basketball matches. The halls are also used for concerts and other cultural events. The Slovenian Olympic Committee has its office in the building.[182]
Trnovo, named Kern, were used for ice skating.[190]
Economy
Industry is the most important employer, notably in the pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals and food processing.[67] Other fields include banking, finance, transport, construction, skilled trades and services and tourism. The public sector provides jobs in education, culture, health care and local administration.[67]
Numerous companies and over 450 shops are located in the BTC City, the largest business, shopping, recreational, entertainment and cultural centre in Slovenia. It is visited each year by 21 million people.[194][195] It occupies an area of 475,000 m2 (5,110,000 sq ft) in the Moste District in the eastern part of Ljubljana.[196][197][198]
City Municipality of Ljubljana (Slovene: Mestna občina Ljubljana; MOL), which is led by the city council. The president of the city council is called the mayor. Members of the city council and the mayor are elected in the local election, held every four years. Among other roles, the city council drafts the municipal budget, and is assisted by various boards active in the fields of health, sports, finances, education, environmental protection and tourism.[200] The municipality is subdivided into 17 districts represented by district councils. They work with the municipality council to make known residents' suggestions and prepare activities in their territories.[201][202]
Between 2002 and 2006,
early parliamentary election, the deputy mayor Aleš Čerin was decided by him to lead the municipality. Čerin did not hold the post of mayor.[205] After Janković had failed to be elected as the Prime Minister in the National Assembly, he participated at the mayoral by-election on 25 March 2012 and was elected for the third time with 61% of the vote. He retook the leadership of the city council on 11 April 2012.[206]
Public order in Ljubljana is enforced by the Ljubljana Police Directorate (Policijska uprava Ljubljana).[207] There are five areal police stations and four sectoral police stations in Ljubljana.[208] Public order and municipal traffic regulations are also supervised by the city traffic wardens (Mestno redarstvo).[209] Ljubljana has a quiet and secure reputation.[208][210]
Population size may be affected by changes in administrative divisions.
In 1869, Ljubljana had about 22,600 inhabitants,[211] a figure that grew to almost 60,000 by 1931.[72]
As of the 2022 census, Ljubljana had a population of 293,218 in the city proper.[216][217]
At the 2002 census, 39% of Ljubljana inhabitants were
Eastern Orthodox; 5% Muslim; and the remaining 0.7% Protestant or another religion.[218]
Approximately 91% of the population speaks Slovene as their primary native language. The second most-spoken language is Bosnian, with Serbo-Croatian being the third most-spoken language.[219]
Education
Primary education
In Ljubljana today there are over 50 public elementary schools with over 20,000 pupils.[163][220] This also includes an international elementary school for foreign pupils. There are two private elementary schools: a Waldorf elementary school and a Catholic elementary school. In addition, there are several elementary music schools.
Historically the first school in Ljubljana belonged to
Teutonic Knights and was established in the 13th century. It originally accepted only boys; girls were accepted from the beginning of the 16th century. Parochial schools are attested in the 13th century, at St. Peter's Church and at Saint Nicholas's Church, the later Ljubljana Cathedral. Since 1291, there were also trade-oriented private schools in Ljubljana. At the beginning of the 17th century, there were six schools in Ljubljana and later three. A girls' school was established by Poor Clares, followed in 1703 by the Ursulines. Their school was for about 170 years the only public girls' school in Carniola. These schools were mainly private or established by the city.[221]
In 1775, the Austrian Empress
elementary education obligatory and Ljubljana got its normal school, intended as a learning place for teachers. In 1805, the first state music school was established in Ljubljana. In the time of Illyrian Provinces
, "école primaire", a unified four-year elementary school program with a greater emphasis on Slovene, was introduced. The first public schools, unrelated to religious education, appeared in 1868.
Secondary education
In Ljubljana, there are ten public and three private
classical gymnasiums, the latter offering Latin and Greek as foreign languages. Some general schools offer internationally oriented European departments, and some offer sports departments, allowing students to more easily adjust their sport and school obligations. All state schools are free, but the number of students they can accept is limited. The private secondary schools include a Catholic grammar school and a Waldorf grammar school. There are also professional grammar schools in Ljubljana, offering economical, technical, or artistic subjects (visual arts, music). All grammar schools last four years and conclude with the matura
exam.
Historically, upon a proposal by
Realschules
(technical secondary schools).
Tertiary education
In 2011, the University had 23 faculties and three academies, located around Ljubljana. They offer Slovene-language courses in medicine, applied sciences, arts, law, administration, natural sciences, and other subjects.[222] The university has more than 63,000 students and some 4,000 teaching faculty.[220] Students make up one-seventh of Ljubljana's population, giving the city a youthful character.[220][223]
Historically, higher schools offering the study of general medicine, surgery, architecture, law and theology, started to operate in Ljubljana under the French annexation of Slovene territory, in 1810–1811. The Austro-Hungarian Empire never allowed Slovenes to establish their own university in Ljubljana, and the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia's most important university, was founded in 1919 after Slovenes joined the first Yugoslavia.[72][220] When it was founded, the university comprised five faculties: law, philosophy, technology, theology and medicine. From the beginning, the seat of the university has been at Congress Square in a building that served as the State Mansion of Carniola from 1902 to 1918.
Libraries
National and University Library of Slovenia
The
university library. In 2011, it held about 1,307,000 books, 8,700 manuscripts, and numerous other textual, visual and multimedia resources, altogether 2,657,000 volumes.[224]
Central Technological Library
The second largest university library in Ljubljana is the Central Technological Library, the national library and information hub for natural sciences and technology.
Municipal Library and other libraries
The Municipal City Library of Ljubljana, established in 2008, is the central regional library and the largest Slovenian general public library. In 2011, it held 1,657,000 volumes, among these 1,432,000 books and a multitude of other resources in 36 branches.[225] Altogether, there are 5 general public libraries and over 140 specialised libraries in Ljubljana.[163]
Besides the two largest university libraries there are libraries at individual faculties, departments and institutes of the
The first libraries in Ljubljana were located in monasteries. The first public library was the Carniolan Estates' Library, established in 1569 by Primož Trubar. In the 17th century, the Jesuit Library collected numerous works, particularly about mathematics. In 1707, the Seminary Library was established; it is the first and oldest public scientific library in Slovenia. Around 1774, after the dissolution of the Jesuits, the Lyceum Library was formed from the remains of the Jesuit Library as well as several monastery libraries.
Science
The first society of the leading scientists and public workers in Carniola was the Dismas Fraternity (Latin: Societas Unitorum), formed in Ljubljana in 1688.[227] In 1693, the Academia Operosorum Labacensium was founded and lasted with an interruption until the end of the 18th century. The next academy in Ljubljana, the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, was not established until 1938.
Transport
Air transport
Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (ICAO code LJLJ; IATA code LJU), located 26 km (16 mi) northwest of the city, has flights to numerous European destinations. Among the companies that fly from there are Air France, Air Serbia, Brussels Airlines, easyJet, Finnair, Lufthansa, Swiss, Wizz Air, Transavia and Turkish Airlines. The destinations are mainly European.[228] This airport has superseded the original Ljubljana airport, in operation from 1933 until 1963.[229][230] It was located in the Municipality of Polje (nowadays the Moste District), on a plain between Ljubljanica and Sava next to the railroad in Moste.[230] There was a military airport in Šiška from 1918 until 1929.[231]
. It is especially popular among tourists. The full trip lasts 60 seconds.
Roads
Ljubljana is located where Slovenia's two main freeways intersect,
Klagenfurt and Salzburg, making it an important entry point for northern European tourists.[242] A toll sticker system has been in use on the Ljubljana Ring Road since 1 July 2008.[243][244] The centre of the city is more difficult to access especially in the peak hours due to long arteries with traffic lights and a large number of daily commuters.[245] The core city centre has been closed for motor traffic since September 2007 (except for residents with permissions), creating a pedestrian zone around Prešeren Square.[246]
Public transport
The historical
Ljubljana tram system was completed in 1901 and was replaced by buses in 1928,[247] which were in turn abolished and replaced by trams in 1931[247] with its final length of 18.5 km (11.5 mi) in 1940.[248] In 1959, it was abolished in favor of automobiles;[249] the tracks were dismantled and tram cars were transferred to Osijek and Subotica.[250] Reintroduction of an actual tram system to Ljubljana has been proposed repeatedly in the 2000s.[251][252]
There are numerous taxi companies in the city.
The Ljubljana Bus Station, the Ljubljana central bus hub, is located next to the Ljubljana railway station. The city bus network, run by the Ljubljana Passenger Transport (LPP) company, is Ljubljana's most widely used means of public transport. The fleet is relatively modern. The number of dedicated bus lanes is limited, which can cause problems in peak hours when traffic becomes congested.[253] Bus rides may be paid with the Urbana payment card (also used for the funicular) or with a mobile phone. Sometimes the buses are called trole (referring to trolley poles), harking back to the 1951–1971 days when Ljubljana had trolleybus (trolejbus) service.[254] There were five trolleybus lines in Ljubljana, until 1958 alongside the tram.[249]
Another means of public road transport in the city centre is the Cavalier (Kavalir), an electric
bicycle rental system offers the residents and visitors of Ljubljana 600 bicycles and more than 600 parking spots at 60 stations in the wider city centre area. The daily number of rentals is around 2,500.[258][259] There was an option to rent a bike even before the establishment of BicikeLJ.[260]
There are still some conditions for cyclists in Ljubljana that have been criticised, including cycle lanes in poor condition and constructed in a way that motorised traffic is privileged. There are also many one-way streets which therefore cannot be used as alternate routes so it is difficult to legally travel by bicycle through the city centre.
cycle lanes on the pavement.[263][264] Nevertheless, the situation has been steadily improving; in 2015, Ljubljana placed 13th in a ranking of the world's most bicycle-friendly cities.[265] In 2016, Ljubljana was 8th on the Copenhagenize list.[266]
Water transport
The river transport on the Ljubljanica and the Sava was the main means of cargo transport to and from the city until the mid-19th century, when railroads were built. Today, the Ljubljanica is used by a number of tourist boats, with wharves under the Butchers' Bridge, at Fish Square, at Court Square, at Breg, at the Poljane Embankment, and elsewhere.
Healthcare
Ljubljana has a rich history of discoveries in medicine and innovations in medical technology. The majority of
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